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CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
Blue Carbon Footprints and the implications of sediment resuspension for climate change
As part of a MBIE funded project, we are looking for a PhD student to join our team. This PhD project will build on two current PhD projects addressing ecological and physical processes associated with sediment disturbance and remineralization. Specifically, this project will develop techniques to up-scale our biophysical measurements and models to develop carbon budgets and carbon footprints associated with seafloor disturbance. The project will suit someone with interdisciplinary interests in connecting and mapping biophysical data to the development of carbon accounting and the identification of mitigation options to diversify the nascent blue economy. Useful skills for the project are the application of GIS, development of carbon accounts, ecological economics and marine science. The project will involve working with key stakeholders to develop scenarios assessing sustainability options for a first assessment of the role of seafloor ecosystems in carbon budgeting and climate change mitigation.
The overall project focuses on a key knowledge gap, exploring a potentially significant but ignored component of our carbon budget. This overall project will contribute to the overall aims of the project that provide the necessary measurements, models and tools to assess how seafloor disturbance increases carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and the potential for habitat restoration or changes in fishing practices to limit these emissions. Since physical disturbance of the seafloor is globally recognised as a major threat to biodiversity, this research will also fill critical knowledge gaps to inform dramatic improvements in how we value, manage, and conserve our environment.
This PhD will be supervised by Professor Simon Thrush (Institute of Marine Science) and Dr Sally Watson (NIWA and Institute of Marine Science). Work for the project may involve being based either at the University’s city campus or at Leigh Marine Laboratory.
We are keen to appoint students to the positions as soon as possible, but the positions will stay open until we find the right candidates. To apply for this position potential candidates, need to send a letter of application, an outline of their research experience (1 page max), university grades and CV to Jaime Rowntree jaime.rowntree@auckland.ac.nz.
Background information on the Institute of Marine Science and life at The University of Auckland can be found at:
www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/en.html